Egg peeler

ABSTRACT

An egg peeler that is configured to separate an egg shell of a hard-boiled egg from the white of the egg. The egg peeler includes a receptacle having a cavity and a lid. The receptacle has a side wall including at least one continuous annular shoulder configured to help crush and separate an egg shell of an egg from the egg white when vigorously shaken. The egg peeler is effective, easy to use, inexpensive, and comprises only two parts and thus very easy to manufacture and package.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure is directed to a kitchen accessory, and particularly toan egg peeler used to separate an egg shell of a hard-boiled egg from anegg white.

SUMMARY

An egg peeler that is configured to separate an egg shell of ahard-boiled egg from the egg white. The egg peeler includes a receptaclehaving a cavity and a selectively attachable lid. The receptacle has aside wall including at least one continuous annular shoulder configuredto help crush and separate an egg shell of an egg from the egg whilewhen vigorously shaken. The egg peeler is effective, easy to use,inexpensive, and comprises only two parts and thus is very easy tomanufacture and package.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates u perspective view of an egg peeler including areceptacle and lid;

FIG. 2 illustrates the egg peeler of FIG. 1 with the lid attached to thebody to create a completely enclosed cavity;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the receptacle;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the receptacle;

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of the receptacle taken along line 5-5in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the receptacle;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the receptacle;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the receptacle;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the lid having a pair of tabs;

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the lid having a pair of tabs;

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view of the lid taken along line 11-11 inFIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the lid;

FIG. 13 is a top view of the lid;

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of the lid; and

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the receptacle containing an egg andthe lid attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure is directed to an egg peeler that is configured toseparate an egg shell of a hard-boiled egg from the white of the egg.The egg peeler is effective, easy to use, inexpensive, and comprisesonly two parts and thus very easy to manufacture and package. The eggpeeler is small and suitable for personal use in a household kitchen.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an egg peeler 10 including areceptacle 12 having an annular side wall 14 and a bottom 16 formedintegral to receptacle 12 and together forming a cavity 18. The cavity18 is seen to be formed by the side wall 14 tapering outwardly from thebottom 16, such that the receptacle inner wall 14 is convex. Thereceptacle 12 is formed of a hard material, such as glass, plastic,acrylic, metal etc. and may be clear to allow viewing of the cavity 18,including an egg therein as shown in FIG. 13.

A round cup-shaped lid 20 is configured to be sealingly and selectivelysecured to a rim 21 at a top portion 22 of the receptacle 12 tocompletely enclose the cavity 16. The lid 20 can he secured to thereceptacle 12 such as by snapping the edge of the lid 20 about the rim21. The lid 20 has a pair of opposing tabs 23 extending from the lidedge and are configured to help snap the lid about the rim 21, and alsoun-snap the lid 20 and remove it from the receptacle 14. Alternatively,the lid 20 can be threadably attached to the receptacle 14 upon rotationof the lid 20 to threads defined at the rim 21. The lid 20 may have aseal or gasket, and may be made of a resilient material to allow the lid20 to flex about the rim 21 to completely enclose the cavity 18 and sealthe cavity 18.

FIG. 2 shows the lid 20 assembled to the receptacle 12 and scaled toprevent any fluid, such as water, from escaping the cavity 18 whendisposed therein.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in ghost lines, and shown in further detail inFIGS. 3-7, the side wall 14 is further seen to have a plurality ofintegrally formed and continuous annular shoulders 26, creating astair-case like inner surface 24. FIG. 3 is a front elevational view ofthe receptacle 12, FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the receptacle12, and FIG. 5 illustrates a front sectional view taken along line 5-5in FIG. 3 showing the evenly spaced continuous annular shoulders 26formed integral to the side wall 14. The annular shoulders 26 each havea ledge forming an annular upper surface 28. In the shown embodiment,there are four (4) shoulders 26. although the number of shoulders 26 canbe greater or less than illustrated und limitation to the number ofshoulders 26 shown in the illustrative embodiment is not to be inferred.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top perspective view of the receptacle 12illustrating the top surfaces of the continuous annular shoulders 26.

FIG. 7 illustrates a top view of the receptacle 12 also showing theupper surfaces 28 of the continuous annular shoulders 26.

FIG. 8 illustrates a bottom view of the receptacle 12.

FIG. 9 is a from elevational view of the lid 20 having a tab.

FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of the lid 20 having a tab.

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view of the lid 20 taken along line 11-11in FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the lid 20.

FIG. 13 is a lop view of the lid 20.

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of the lid 20.

Referring now to FIG. 15, there is shewn the egg peeler 10 containing aconventional commercial hen egg 30 in the cavity 18. The cavity 18further contains a fluid such as a portion of water 32, and the lid 20secured to the top of the receptacle 12 to seal and completely enclosethe egg 30 in the cavity 18. The portion of water 32 may take up, forexample, about half of the remaining volume of the cavity 18 with theegg 30 positioned vertically in the cavity 18.

The egg peeler 10 is used by first vertically placing the hard-boiledegg 30 in the cavity 18 of the open receptacle 12, Next, the portion ofwater 32 is poured into the receptacle 12 such that it is disposed aboutthe lower portion of the egg 30. Next, the user attaches the lid 20 tothe rim 21 of the receptacle 12 to seal the egg 30 and portion of water32 within the cavity 18. The user then vigorously shakes the egg peeler10 vertically, like making a martini, such that the annular shoulders 26violently engage the egg shell to help crush the shell and separate theshell from the egg white. The portion of water 32 helps lubricate theegg shell to help separate the egg shell from the egg white. Finally,the lid 20 is removed, the egg white is removed from the receptacle 16,or simply poured out, and the crushed egg shell remains which are onlysmall particles are discarded.

In one illustrative embodiment, the following dimensions of egg peeler10 may be used. The outermost diameter of the rim 21 may be 3.01 inches,the height of the receptacle 12 shown at dimension 13 may be 3.00inches, dimension C may be 0.15 inches, the outermost diameter of thelid 20 shown at dimension D may be 2.99 inches, and the height of thelid 20 shown at dimension E may be 0.97 inches. Of course, otherdimensions are contemplated by this disclosure.

The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate thedisclosure and is not intended to be limiting. It will be appreciatedthat modifications, variations and additional embodiments are covered bythe above teachings and within the purview of the appended claimswithout departing from the spirit and intended scope of the disclosure.Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating thespirit and substance of the disclosure may occur to persons skilled inthe art. the disclosure should be construed to include everything withinthe scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

I Claim:
 1. An egg peeler, comprising: a body having an annular sidewall and a bottom together forming a receptacle having a cavity; a lidconfigured to selectively secure to the body to sealingly enclose thecavity; and wherein the body further comprises at least one annularshoulder within the receptacle and configured to engage an object placedin the cavity when the egg peeler is shaken.
 2. The egg peeler asspecified in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of the annularshoulders.
 3. Tire egg peeler as specified in claim 2 wherein theplurality of annular shoulders are evenly spaced from one another. 4.The egg peeler as specified in claim 2 wherein the annular shoulderseach form a ledge having an annular upper surface facing the lid.
 5. Theegg peeler as specified in claim 4 wherein the body is comprised of aclear material.
 6. The egg peeler as specified in claim 1 furtherincluding an egg disposed in the cavity.
 7. The egg peeler as specifiedin claim 2 further including an egg disposed in the cavity.
 8. The eggpeeler as specified in claim 6 further comprising a fluid in the cavity.9. The egg peeler as specified in claim 1 wherein the receptacle has arim, wherein the lid is configured to snap about the rim and to thereceptacle.
 10. The egg peeler as specified in claim 7 wherein thereceptacle has a rim, wherein the lid is configured to snap about therim and to the receptacle.
 11. A method of separating a shell of ahard-boiled egg from an egg while using an egg peeler comprising: a bodyhaving an annular side wall and a bottom together forming a receptaclehaving a cavity; a lid configured to selectively secure to the body tosealingly enclose the cavity; and wherein the body further comprises atleast one annular shoulder within the receptacle and configured toengage an object placed in the cavity when the egg peeler is shaken,comprising the steps of: placing an egg in the receptacle cavity; addingwater to the cavity; sealingly securing the lid to body: shaking the eggpeeler and separating the egg shell from the egg white; and removing theegg white from the receptacle.
 12. The method as specified in claim 11wherein the body further comprises a plurality of the annular shoulders.13. The method as specified in claim 12 wherein the plurality of annularshoulders are evenly spaced from one another.
 14. The method asspecified in claim 12 wherein the annular shoulders each form a ledgehaving an annular upper surface facing the lid.
 15. The method asspecified in claim 14 wherein the body is comprised of a clear material.16. The method as specified in claim 11 wherein the receptacle has arim, wherein the lid is snapped about the rim and to the receptacle.